The use of electric colored lights on Christmas trees is a popular practice. Such lights come in many different shapes and sizes. When Christmas tree lights burn out, the larger light bulbs, after being allowed to cool, are easily grasped and removed from their sockets and replaced. However, the smaller the light bulb, the harder it is to get a grip on it and remove it from its socket. This also makes it hard to grasp when plugging a small light bulb into a socket. The problems involved are that the structure of the light bulb is fragile and the force required to remove it from its socket is sometimes greater than the light bulb can withstand. The area which is the most sturdy on a small Christmas tree light bulb, its base where it connects with the socket, is the most difficult to grasp. This is especially true when the light is on the Christmas tree and surrounded by sharp pine needles. Even a small bulb is quite hot unless substantial cooling time is allowed.
The device of this invention is a unique and simple tool that can reach in and firmly grasp a Christmas tree light around its base without having to apply force to the delicate light bulb structure itself, avoiding the majority of the pine needles that guard the light bulb, allowing the bulb to be removed without having to wait for it to cool. This makes removal of the light bulb from its socket a simple easy process. Another device on the tool allows the delicate structure of the light itself to be gently, but firmly, held as it is placed into a socket on or off the Christmas tree.
The inventor knows of no prior art which is designed for the particular purpose of removing small Christmas tree light bulbs from their sockets and replacing them. However, U.S. Pat. Nos. 673,191 (D. H. Arthur) and 1,166,189 (A. W. Darby) do show devices designed to remove large light bulbs from their sockets by grasping them and unscrewing them. The device of the present invention is designed to unsnap the bulb from the socket, grasp it, pull the bulb free from the socket, and then replace the bulb that was in the socket by snapping another bulb into the socket. U.S. Pat. No. 3,215,006 (A. Urani) shows a device designed to remove fuses from electrical devices and circuits. The device in the Urani patent accomplishes this by grasping the cylindrically shaped fuse either by its length or by its breadth. However, the Urani device is not designed to pull out an object like a Christmas tree light bulb that has been snapped into a socket because the device has no wedge-like projections to gently pull the light out of the socket to enable the grippers to grasp the base of the light bulb as does the present invention.
Other references are U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,244,094 (Rucinsky); 1,726,465 (B. E. Bird); 4,389,912 (Dallons et al), 3,100,324 (Tutino et al); 3,654,824 (Reed); 4,155,159 (Hogan et al); 4,475,283 (Olson et al); and 4,541,311 (Trammell, Jr.).